Does this bother anyone else ? :

- On an HD Channel
- Usually a commercial (but not always)
- Clearly Shot in HD
- But shown in 4x3 SD 480i - on the HD channel
- So, it is letterboxed ! :mad:
- A little 16x9 405i image in the middle of the 16x9 1080i broadcast image. :mad:

So, you have:

- Program in 16x9 HD
- Commercial shot in 16x9 HD, but shown in 4x3 SD Letterboxed
- Later on the same channel, commercials in 16x9 HD :rolleyes:

Are human beings not sufficiently intelligent for HD ?

Another example - just today, on the only local channel with HD news :) , the weather comes on, and there is an HD camera shooting the weatherman - who is standing in front of a weather map that is not only 4x3, but clearly 480i. I guess that the budget didn't extend to a new HD blue-screen (green-screen?) system...

I am currently involved in producing HD Weather for a local NYC station under an internship. Upgrading the Weather Center alone is a huge task. Everything from getting a new HD Graphics package, to upgrading to SGI computers so they can handle the new graphics, to even teaching the meteorologists how to use these new systems. You'd be surprised how much it costs to bring HD Weather to the newscast.

The SD commercial may be inserted locally. Most stations do not air HD commercials locally yet.

Are human beings not sufficiently intelligent for HD ?
Some are, but others make a lot of incorrect assumptions about HD, like this one:

A 16:9 aspect ratio commercial must be HD.

Just because a commercial is 16:9 doesn't mean it's available in HD. All it means is that it's aired in 16:9, which explains why you can get a reduced size 16:9 image in a larger 16:9 image area.

Another example - just today, on the only local channel with HD news :) , the weather comes on, and there is an HD camera shooting the weatherman - who is standing in front of a weather map that is not only 4x3, but clearly 480i. I guess that the budget didn't extend to a new HD blue-screen (green-screen?) system...
This is correct, in that the issue is money. But implying the station is somehow at fault is again an incorrect assumption.

HD weather radar systems are very expensive, and most local stations are already tapped after making the switch to locally originated HD.

Are human beings not sufficiently intelligent for HD ?They tell us that we lost our tails
Evolving up from little snails
I say its all just wind in sails
We're pinheads now, we are not whole
We're pinheads all - Jocko homo
Monkey men all in business suit
Teachers and critics all dance the poot
Are we not men?
We watch HD
Are we not men?
HDTV!

Some are, but others make a lot of incorrect assumptions about HD, like this one:

A 16:9 aspect ratio commercial must be HD.

Just because a commercial is 16:9 doesn't mean it's available in HD. All it means is that it's aired in 16:9, which explains why you can get a reduced size 16:9 image in a larger 16:9 image area.

The two venues for commercials are:

- 4x3 SD
- 16x9 HD

Why would someone produce a commercial in 16x9 SD ?

ALSO, considering that TV channels go to great lengths to avoid black bars, such as showing movies not in OAR, and even distorting images to stretch them from 4x3 to 16x9, then why wouldn't the channel simply "zoom" (upconvert) the commercial to full screen 16x9 (assuming that it actually arrived in 16x9 405i).

By the way, can a Mod explain why this thread about aspect ratios and resolutions in programming was moved to "Hardware", while this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=852825

about the exact same thing was not ?

By the way, can a Mod explain why this thread about aspect ratios and resolutions in programming was moved to "Hardware", while this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=852825

about the exact same thing was not ?That ain't the half of it.

Anyone who read that thread in the early morning hours can see some major editing has been done to it today.

I will say one thing - I do have a greater sense of the "politics" going on around here now :rolleyes: ;).

The two venues for commercials are:

- 4x3 SD
- 16x9 HDKeep trying.

Why would someone produce a commercial in 16x9 SD ?It's an artistic decision. They impart the sense of watching a film, as opposed to TV.

Until the past 6 months or so, very, very few 16:9 commercials were available in HD.

That ain't the half of it.

Anyone who read that thread in the early morning hours can see some major editing has been done to it today.

I will say one thing - I do have a greater sense of the "politics" going on around here now :rolleyes: ;).
You are completely 100% wrong. No editing of any posts or post deletions were done to this topic, other than you deleting one of your own posts. No one else, including the moderators, did anything. Forum software would let me see any changes. Your reference to reading the topic in the early morning hours in the other forum is also off base, as I moved the topic at the same time I posted to it last night about 11:30pm-12am.

Is it possible you were reading two topics and thinking they were one?

Further, your sense of "politics' going on around here is also completely wrong.

Contact me via AVS Private Message with any further comments or questions.

By the way, can a Mod explain why this thread about aspect ratios and resolutions in programming was moved to "Hardware", while this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=852825

about the exact same thing was not ?Sure, they about two different subjects.

The other topic was discussing various aspect of HD (and 16:9 ED, which is fair game for that forum) programming, this one was lamenting the lack of HD for a specific type of programming. Due to the vast number of potential non-HD topics, we usually delete or close that type of topic. The forum would be filled with "Why isn't xyz in HD.....I want xyz in HD...." topics.


I decided to farm this one out to Hardware, because it's less busy, to die a peaceful death. Probably due to the original premise being flawed.

I guess I could move it back, if it's a big deal.

Good point.

Unfortunately, most stations won't completely convert to HD until they're required by the FCC in 2/09.

So, we'll have to put up with half SD and half HD for 2 more years.

Even in 2009, the stations aren't required to convert to HD, only digital broadcasts (instead of over-the-air analog) and digital still can be SD, as some stations have chosen.

You are completely 100% wrong. No editing of any posts or post deletions were done to this topic...I read back a little further and all the posts I remember reading are there except for the final response by the OP. He must've deleted it. I thought I read back far enough (the whole 3rd page), but apparently I didn't. My bad then. Sorry.

(I don't even recall posting and deleting one of my own on that particular thread, as most of it was way over my head. I must've been half asleep if I did, and probably deleted it because it didn't make sense.)